Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Do not buy BG3 on Full Price (the Act 2 story)

Act 1 was excellent. In Act 2 BG3 went downhill for me. In this text is going to have some spoilers of Act 2, so do not read after this, if you do not want to know any spoilers. (I do not gave character names or spoil the ending of the game/Act 3.)

So anyway, this happened to me in the end of Act 2... I wanted to get to Baldurs Gate. I was trying to leave the Act 2 area and the game forced me to this dead body part place, so I could not leave and I crawl myself out of there. Ok then game. I was tired of the Act 2, I just wanted to leave... I went back to the Shar Temple... I did not want to go there, but I read from forums that I have to do that to advance the game. (Are you trying to be good or bad, it does matter. You can make choices in Act 2, there are different endings to Act 2, but you can not skip the Shar Temple area.) Well, I did the annoying puzzles (some people like them, I do not.) I get to the door, I used my 4 stones of some kind of magic. That kind of design is boring and lazy. That Door that is locked is over-used CRPG sin, where you have get Door open and you can not use magic or your speech ability or explosives to get trought the door. Nope. You have to get 4 keyes to the door or 4 stones to the door or whatever and that is always terrible. (BG3 have done this and Pathfinder games etc. It is normal, but not good plot or game design.) I think KOTOR 1 did this kind of things well, in that game you had enough options, that BG3 in this point did not have. (Act 1 did have those. Act 2 in this part did not.)

Ok then game. It this point of the game... I just wanted to get over the other side of that damn door, I have the 4 stones, are you happy game? But somehing stopped me again, to get trought the door. What now? My character were forced to a dialogue, before the next important part of the game, where you can do Good desicion or Bad one. (And this big decision does effect the story, but it seems that you can not be complitly with the bad guys.) So anyway, this companion, very important one to the story started bitch about that I have not done her questline and she attacked me and I was forced to kill her, before story section where that could make some kind of sense. (Before the meeting of the Winged Lady.) Ok then game. I do not think that action was something that companion character would do in that situation and also she liked me a lot, before that moment. (So it seems the like/dislike mecanism of BG3 does not matter in Act 2.)

That moment, that attack the player character moment, happened even without persuasive check, I could only choose go foward and she attack my character or go back and do her quest. This was the beginning of the end of me realizing how much game makers have cut content out of this game... There is a reason, a good reason why example in Mass Effect Trilogy companion quests are usually optional and separeted from main questline, becouse thats how you design a good game, where you WANT to do companions quests and not to be forced to do companions quests or they try to kill you. (Of cource companion conflict can be great story line, but not becouse you did not get their candy for them right in that instant.)

Well. I soldiered on. Did not do the companion quest, so that companion were dead now. I finnished the Shar Temple and then I saw this Winged Lady fly around and then I went to Evil Guys Castle and there was a new important companion waiting, The Companion from BG1 and BG2. I enjoyed little bit this part, attacking the castle, but then... The Companion from BG1 and BG2 died in battle, becouse the game makers were too lazy to keep her alive for a second, so I can get her to my party. (And yes I was playing Tactician and yes, I know she can be kind of in your party, so you can control her. She died anyway.) I was very done with the game in this point. I did not want load the game over and over again, so The Companion From BG1 and BG2 was dead too. Then I went to visit my camp. I realized that one other person from Act 1 was missing in the camp, not companion, it was the Bard Dude. It was little bit funny, it was like I was a bad parent who just realized that the kid is gone. I think Bard Dude disapeared from the camp like 20 hours earlier. (Bug? Or just cut content? I did all of his questlines.)

I went back to the Evil Guys Castle and up the stairs. There was the End Battle of Act 2, well yes and no. Becouse now I have to listen this Evil Guy cry about his dead child, who are not dead and he went on and on about why he is the Evil Guy. Then I went to battle against him and I won the battle, Evil Guy escaped, kidnapping the Winged Lady and I have to go other place to battle against him again. I went there and again before a other door, this other companion started bitch about his side quest... I did that one, so I did not get other psyhopath trying to kill me becouse they did not get their candy right there. Then I was listening 3 Evil Guys to talk about bad things and you know what… two out of 3 Evil Guys escaped to Act 3, even after one of my companion cry out loydly and they for sure heard it in Slimy Cave we were, but it was not the time, you know, we have still Act 3.

So battle happened against the Evil Guy of the Evil Castle, same one who kidnapped the Winged Lady. (After monologue of cource. He really liked to hear himself talk.) Then I killed him, the Bad guy, but he did not die and he become Super Saiyan. I killed him again. (I am so tired of this boring Evil Guy.) And you know what happened - he did not die and he become ghost for a second? (Bug? Or bad game desing?) Then he was again himself without being Super Saiyan and he started a monologue about why his mommy never hugged him. Can I have at least Wasteland 3 moment, where I can shoot the Evil Guy and not listen his rants about why he is evil? "Rangers shoot!" No. No. In BG3 Act 2, you get the epic death to the boring generic Evil Guy becouse they loved the voice actor or something. Or maybe it is a bug? Or bad game design? Cut content? All that have its place in BG3 Act 2 and 3, but in this case it was just the game makers trying to make the game longer and/or more “epic”. So, fire came out of the Evil Guys eyes and mouth and then... There was silence. He was finally dead. Like my love for this game.